Wells Fargo and Co. has closed a $700 million syndicated loan facility to The Howard Hughes Corporation a real estate developer of residential and commercial properties. “This new facility achieves our stated financial goals of both increasing our financial flexibility as well as reducing our weighted average cost of capital. By reducing our cost of funding, extending our maturity and adding a revolving component, this financing exemplifies our commitment to further improving our credit metrics,” said David O’Reilly, chief financial officer at Hughes.

The loan facility comprises a $615 million term loan and an $85 million revolver that will provide general working capital for Hughes. The loan facility is secured by a diverse collateral pool comprised of 26 retail, office and hotel properties located in Hughes’s acclaimed master planned communities of Ward Village, The Woodlands, and downtown Columbia.

• Ward Village is a 60-acre coastal master planned community in the heart of Honolulu. Upon completion it will introduce around one-million square feet of retail experiences, and it is home to 90 unique stores and 40 restaurants.
• The Woodlands is a 28,000-acre award-winning master planned community, located 27 miles north of downtown Houston. Highlights include 1725 and 1735 Hughes Landing, two Class A office towers with a structured parking garage, located within the 66-acre, mixed-use Hughes Landing development, one of Houston’s premier mixed-use urban centers.
• Downtown Columbia is located at the center of Columbia, Md., one of the first master planned communities in the U.S., founded by legendary developer James W. Rouse in 1967. At full buildout, the redevelopment of downtown Columbia will feature more than 14 million square feet of office, hotel, retail, as well as residential, cultural, and public space. Highlights include Columbia Corporate Center and One Merriweather, nine Class A and Class B office buildings.

“This financing achieves several objectives, including converting bridge and construction loans to a five-year term loan facility that provides operating flexibility and enhanced liquidity for The Howard Hughes Corporation,” said Bill Vernon, head of real estate banking in the commercial group of Wells Fargo.